Intonation of Tag Questions (+ FREE practice PDF)

"You remember me, don't you?"

"You remember me, don't you?"

"You didn't forget my birthday, did you?"

What are tag questions?

In this episode, I'm going to talk about what tag questions are, why we

actually need tag questions and when we use them, how to use them correctly, and

then also the two different intonation patterns that we use when we use tag

questions so that you can both understand the meaning, but also understand the

hidden meaning behind a sentence.

If you're new to my channel, then let me take a minute to introduce myself.

My name is Hadar.

I'm a non native speaker of English, and I am here to help you speak English

with clarity, confidence, and freedom.

You can come check out my website at hadarshemesh.com for a ton

of free resources and lessons.

And also you can follow me on social media where I share new

content almost every single day.

Let's get started.

What are tag questions?

Tag questions are phrases, statement-like phrases that we add another small

part that is formed as a question, so that ultimately we take a statement

and we turn it into a question.

For example, "It's a great day, isn't it?"

"It's a great day" - statement - "isn't it?"

we add this part to turn the entire phrase into a question.

"You didn't forget my birthday, did you?"

"You didn't forget my birthday" - statement - "did you?"

- question.

So why do we need tag questions and when do we use them?

There are several reasons for why you may want to use tag questions.

The first one is to get some kind of response.

It's great for a small talk or when you're having a conversation and you want

someone to respond to what you're saying.

For example, "It's a great day, isn't it?"

"It's a great day", right, you're making a statement.

When you say "isn't it?", you're inviting the other person to pitch in,

to also say what they think about it.

"The sushi is really good, isn't it?"

"The sushi is really good", that's what I think, "Isn't it?"

I want you to join the conversation and tell me what you think about it.

So this is a great tactic to use when you want to have a

conversation with someone else.

We also use it when we seek some kind of confirmation, when we think

that something is true, but we want to confirm that it's actually true.

For example, "You really enjoyed the movie".

This is me making a statement because I believe that you enjoyed the movie.

"Didn't you?"

"You really enjoyed the movie" - statement, "Didn't you?"

- tag question.

Another reason for why we may use tag questions is when we

want to soften a statement.

When we want to say our opinion, to state our opinion, but we don't want

to sound too aggressive or forceful.

So, for example, if If someone suggests an idea, I could

respond, "It's a great idea."

But I could also say, "It's a great idea, isn't it?"

Right?

So I'm making a statement, but I'm softening it a little

bit when I use the tag.

Now, you can use it, you don't have to, there's nothing

wrong about being assertive.

But sometimes in a situation when there are a lot of opinions,

you might want to use it.

Lastly, we may use it when we want to express uncertainty, when we're actually

uncertain about a certain situation.

For example, "This is the right way, isn't it?"

"This is the right way", it's a statement and it sounds, you know,

certain if I say it that way.

"This is the right way."

But if I add "isn't it?", it may be because I'm a little uncertain about

it and I'm seeking for validation.

Or maybe I need someone to tell me if it's the right way or not.

"This is the right way, isn't it?"

There are different types of tag questions.

Today, we're going to focus on two: a positive statement with a negative tag, or

a negative statement with a positive tag.

So, for example, if I take a positive statement "You remember me", "You

remember me" - positive, the tag needs to be in the negative form.

"You remember me, don't you?"

"You remember me, don't you?"

To say, "You remember me, do you?"

would be incorrect.

"You remember me, don't you?"

If I start with a negative statement, "You don't remember me", then the

tag needs to be positive - "do you?"

"You don't remember me, do you?"

It would be incorrect to say, "You don't remember me, don't you?"

Okay?

So, you always balance it: positive with negative, negative with positive.

Now let's talk about the two different intonation patterns that we can use

in TAG questions and what they mean.

So first let's talk about the patterns.

There is rising intonation, where your pitch goes up.

Pitch is the tone of voice, the frequency of your voice.

So it goes up.

"aaaAAA", try it with me.

"aaaAAA".

We use it a lot for yes-no questions.

"Are you hungry?"

"Do you want to go?"

"Are you sad?"

"aaaAAA".

So we start low and we go up.

And there is falling intonation, usually associated with statement, where we

start and then we drop down - "AAAaaa".

"I'm hungry".

"It's dark".

"Let's go".

"Let's go" - rising.

"Let's go".

Now in tag questions, the first part will always have a falling intonation, and

then the second part will either have a rising intonation or falling intonation.

So let's look at the example.

"It's a bit late".

"It's a bit late".

That's the first part, the statement, falling intonation.

"It's a bit late".

And then the next part, "isn't it?", could be either rising - "isn't

it?", or falling - "isn't it".

Try it with me.

"It's a bit late, isn't it?"

- rising.

"It's a bit late, isn't it".

Now what's the difference?

When you use rising intonation in the second part, the tag, it usually suggests

that you are uncertain, that you're seeking for a response, that you're

asking, you're really asking a question.

"It's a bit late, isn't it?"

So usually if I would say it like that, I would want someone to

say, "Yeah, it's really late".

Or, "No, you know what?

It's not that late.

We can still make it happen".

Okay?

But when I use the falling intonation, "It's a bit late, isn't

it", I'm not actually seeking for confirmation, I'm not really asking,

I'm really making a statement.

Okay?

And maybe softening it a little bit.

"It's a bit late, isn't it", right?

It's not open for discussion really when I use this falling intonation.

Now let's look at another example.

"You remember me, don't you?"

"You remember me, don't you?"

I'm actually asking, waiting for a response.

"You remember me, don't you", I know that you remember me, right?

I'm just softening it a little bit.

"You remember me, don't you".

Right? Don't try to hide it.

I can see it.

"You remember me, don't you?"

Here I might be a little surprised that you may not remember

me, and I'm actually asking.

Let's try another one.

"He doesn't like spicy food, does he?"

That's a real question.

"He doesn't like spicy food", I'm assuming, but I want confirmation.

"He doesn't like spicy food, does he?"

"He doesn't like spicy food, does he".

It's almost like I'm making a statement using this tag question, but I'm

making a statement about him and his affiliation with spicy foods.

Okay, let's try another one.

"It isn't raining, is it?"

Try it with me, rising intonation.

"It isn't raining" - falling, "is it?"

- rising.

"It isn't raining, is it", right?

I'm making a point here.

"It isn't raining, is it".

So why aren't you outside doing what you need to do?

Now, if you want to practice it a bit more, because that's the only way to

turn something into a habit, both in terms of your grammar and vocabulary and

pronunciation, the best way is repetition.

I prepared for you a practice sheet with a bunch of different types of

tag questions with the different intonation patterns for you to practice.

There's also an audio recording.

It's absolutely free and I am making it available to you.

So click the link below.

If you're listening to the podcast, look for the link in the description,

download it and practice with me.

So you can make it a habit and start using it more frequently, or even just

so that you can start understanding it better when people use it around you.

Okay, that's it.

I hope you enjoyed this episode.

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And come check out my website hadarshemesh.com for more information and

more resources for you to practice with.

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Have a beautiful, beautiful rest of the day.

It is a beautiful day, isn't it?

I'll see you soon.

Talk to you in the next video.

Bye.